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Poster: pixinguinha Date: May 22, 2014 10:56am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Space is the Place

Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sun Ra. I hope you got to hear his incredible music.

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Poster: Headphone Date: May 23, 2014 8:56pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Space is the Place

I saw him just once, in Manhattan in June 1975. Very amazing, big band with several upright bass players, metal-clad singing ladies, projected movies of him walking past the great pyramids in Egypt, long long jams...

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Poster: matchstickstatue Date: May 24, 2014 9:45am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Space is the Place

Just this week I saw his protege Marshall Allen, who himself turns 90 tomorrow. He guested with a local big band for 90 mins, at one point taking a 15 minute solo, and afterwards apparently held court at the hotel bar, leading patrons in an impromptu singalong for another hour or so. He then left for an extensive European tour with what remains of the Arkestra. Apparently a life until the tutelage of Mr. Mystery has its benefits.

There's an excellent BBC doc on Sun Ra on youtube, with lots of great stories from Allen, his biographer and John Sinclair. Highly recommended: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGTd3HR62fo

Stay for the story of his first stroke.

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Poster: Skobud Date: May 23, 2014 7:07am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Space is the Place

ElSf3YB.jpg

-He was a prolific composer who wrote over 1,000 tunes

-He was an accomplished pianist on acoustic and electric keyboards of all sorts

-He was a bandleader of small-to-medium-size experimental jazz combos

-He was a ringleader of a 20-to-30-piece big band ("Arkestra") with full costumes, dancers and overhead projections

-He was a well-read man whose personal philosophy drew from Egyptology, black Freemasonry, Biblical exegesis, science and science fiction and most anything else that lay outside the traditional domains of scholarship

-He was an enigma to some jazz critics and enjoyed relatively little mainstream success

-He appeared of Rolling Stone magazine and as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live

-He was lionized by both white bohemians and Black Arts pioneers

-He was a black person who "arrived" in the American South in 1914, a conscientious objector in World War II and a participant — along with 6 million others — in the mid-century Great Migration of African Americans

-He was, according to him, not from this planet, with no family and not a human

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Poster: c-freedom Date: May 23, 2014 4:14am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Space is the Place

pixinguinha; Still 24 hours of Sun Ra: Friday night- http://kboo.fm/content/sunraspecialpart2 Also found this: N.Y. Times 21 Sun Ra Albums Are Released on iTunes By ALLAN KOZINN May 21, 2014 12:36 pm "The releases include music recorded between 1956 and 1974 – roughly the first half of Sun Ra’s career – and includes several albums that the archive regards as essential releases (among them, “Nubians of Plutonia,” “Jazz in Silhouette” and “Sun Ra Visits Earth”), as well as several that capture his more avant-garde side (including “Atlantis” and “Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy”)."
This post was modified by c-freedom on 2014-05-23 11:14:56

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Poster: bluedevil Date: May 22, 2014 12:19pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Space is the Place

Thanks for letting us know. I still treasure the few times I saw him in early/mid 80''s. Have nice sun ra street poster in hall of my home.

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Poster: jerlouvis Date: May 22, 2014 1:08pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Space is the Place

Like BD said seeing Sun Ra was a treat.One of the greatest musicians of the 20th century.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu1S9U4w1p0

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Poster: bluedevil Date: May 22, 2014 7:20pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Space is the Place

http://www.jambase.com/Articles/121732/Happy-100th-Birthday-Sun-Ra-Space-Is-The-Place

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Poster: Dudley Dead Date: May 23, 2014 12:34pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Space is the Place

I saw him right here in San Juan Capistrano . One the most amazing shows I have seen !

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Poster: bluedevil Date: May 23, 2014 4:14pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Space is the Place

Hey neighbor - if ever headed up Monterey way, let me know. First beer (or whatever) on me.

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Poster: Dudley Dead Date: May 24, 2014 9:05am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Space is the Place

Thank you . Haven't been up that way in a long time .